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Colorado Mesa baseball team signs six in early recruiting period

Five high school seniors and a junior college sophomore will join the Colorado Mesa University baseball team in the 2013-14 school year.

The initial class made their decision during the early signing period.

“We have a group of good athletes,” CMU coach Chris Hanks said. “They are also very good students with a cumulative GPA of 3.8.

“From a character standpoint, I think we hit it out of the park. From an academic standpoint, I think we hit it out of the park.”

It is the largest early signing period class in Hanks’ 14 years, he said.

The class includes Central High School standouts Alex Kitzman, a sophomore pitcher at Otero Junior College, and catcher Kyle Serrano.

Kitzman, a 5-foot-11 right-handed pitcher, struck out 43 batters in 48 2/3 innings in his freshman season at Otero. Serrano hit .562 with nine doubles and 14 RBI in his junior season last spring.

“We recruited Alex out of high school, but he committed to Otero,” Hanks said. “He’s a kid we wanted back. He had command of all his pitches.

“Kyle’s been to a couple of our camps. We like the way he swings the bat. He has soft hands and a nice arm as a catcher. There’s room to improve both of those things.”

A pitcher, two infielders and an outfielder complete the rest of the signees.

Left-handed pitcher Clay Miller led Bayfield High School with 45 innings pitched and a 1.09 ERA last spring.

“(The CMU coaching staff) has seen most of the pitching in Colorado, Arizona and Salt Lake and I’ll put Clay Miller up with anyone we’ve seen,” Hanks said. “We had to fight a lot of Division I schools for him.

“Everybody saw him. Tennessee pressed him hard. He’s a small-town kid. He loves to hunt and fish. That outdoorsman aspect helped us as much as anything. We’re excited about him.”

Twin brothers Kevan and Trevor Elcock, both 6-feet tall and 175 pounds, are middle infielders for a high school in Queen Creek, Ariz. Trevor has experience playing outfield as well.

“Both are very athletic and young for their class,” Hanks said. “They will be 17 when they step foot on campus. They are kids with proper frames to be very physical kids. We like how talented and good their skills are now.”

Outfielder P.J. Gonzalez is a three-time all-conference selection out of Arbor View High School in Las Vegas.

“Gonzalez came highly recommended from a lot of sources,” Hanks said. “He is one of the best outfielders in Las Vegas.”